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Technical diving in the United States: 120 instructors on TecDiveTools, with the agencies and courses each teaches, and a summary of what students say.
TecDiveTools lists 120 instructors teaching technical diving in the United States.
Listings are ordered by how much evidence exists about their technical diving, not by a star rating, with any paid Featured listing shown first and marked as such (how rankings work). 64 of these 120 carry reviews we have read and classified as being about technical or overhead training. The count excludes recreational certifications by name, so a busy resort does not outrank a one-instructor cave operation on the volume of its reef trips. Separately, 43 have a written synthesis of what reviewers say about them. How we read and count reviews.
Looking for the dive centres instead? Dive centres in United States.
TecDiveTools lists 120 technical diving instructors in the United States: North Florida Cave Country (65), Southeast Florida (27), Florida West Coast (Tampa Bay) (16), Florida Panhandle (7) and Florida Keys (5). The directory is not a census — it lists the instructors we have been able to verify, and grows as more are added.
In the United States, Florida is the centre of technical training. North-central Florida's cave country — the springs around High Springs, Ginnie Springs and Peacock Springs — is where much of modern cave-diving practice and training developed, and its high-flow, cooler, often tannin-stained systems build skills that transfer anywhere. The Panhandle adds one of the world's great technical wrecks: the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany off Pensacola, with its flight deck at about 43 m and the sand at about 65 m.
TDI (98), IANTD (26), NSS-CDS (8) and GUE (4), counted by how many of the 120 instructors listed in the United States teach each. 15 teach more than one agency. The agency sets the standards and issues the card; the instructor sets the price and schedule.
Published whole-course prices at dive centres in the United States, by training tier — Advanced Nitrox / Decompression Procedures: $600–$1,800 (4 centres); Normoxic Trimix: $1,600 (2 centres); Advanced Nitrox: $600–$900 (2 centres); Intro to Tech / Essentials: $395–$600 (2 centres); Cavern: $500–$600 (2 centres). Each figure is a centre's own published price; they differ mainly in what they include (gas, equipment, dives), so compare inclusions before numbers. Every course page lists the individual prices.
Yes — 77 of the 120 instructors listed in the United States teach cave or cavern courses. Most often: TDI Cavern (57), TDI Intro to Cave (55), TDI Full Cave (44) and TDI DPV Cave (24).
Yes — 65 of the 120 instructors listed in the United States teach rebreather courses. Most often: TDI Air Diluent CCR (44), TDI Air Diluent CCR Decompression Procedures (43), TDI Helitrox CCR Decompression Procedures (29) and TDI Mixed Gas CCR (22). CCR training is unit-specific, so check which units a listing supports.
The springs dive all year at a constant temperature. After heavy rain, rivers can back-flood some springs with tannic water, lowering visibility or closing sites, so follow local conditions. Hurricane season (June to November) mainly affects ocean and wreck diving.
The springs are about 22°C (72°F) year-round — cool enough that most cave divers wear a drysuit for long dives. Ocean water off the Keys runs from the low 20s °C in winter to around 30°C in summer.